Downspout diverter



United States Patent DOWNSPOUT DIVERTER Edward A. Kotlar, West Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Mich. (18055 James Couzens Highway, Detroit 35, Mick), assignor of one-half to J. Reed Alexander, Birmingham, Mich.

Filed Jan. 20, 1958, Ser. No. 710,102

3 Claims. (Cl. 137-561) This invention relates to a downspout diverter and more particularly to a fitting arranged to be applied to the lower end of a downspout from an eaves trough of a building for directing rain water away from foundation or basement walls.

In many communities, local ordinances prohibit connection of the rain water downspouts with the building sewage system and therefore surface drainage must be relied upon. With surface drainage from the eaves, there is always the problem of erosion with the resulting accumulation of water around the foundation and basement walls which causes troublesome seepage. This problem has been attempted to be solved by the use of concrete slabs located beneath the outlets of the downspouts having troughs therein for directing the water away from the building walls. These are not very efiective for the purpose intended and also interfere with the placement of foundation planting shrubbery. They are also bothersome when located on a lawn since they make the job of mowing the lawn inconvenient.

It is an object of the invention to provide a rain water diverter for downspouts that is of economical manufacture, that is very effective for preventing erosion by conducting rain water away from basement walls and to desired areas and that does not produce an obstruction to foundation planting or on lawns.

A further object of the invention is to provide a downspout diverter that is constructed to take case of heavy flow as well as a light flow and one which will not readily clog.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a downspout diverter of the present invention arranged at the lower end of a downspout.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the downspout diverter.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the diverter partly in section.

In the drawings, a building structure is indicated at and a downspout extending downwardly from the eaves trough thereof is indicated at 12. The lower end of downspout 12 terminates above the level of the ground 14 and has a conventional elbow 16 fitted thereon. The elbow 16 extends downwardly and away from the building structure 12. The downspout diverter of the present invention, generally indicated at 18, is applied to the end of elbow 16 so that it inclines downwardly with its lower end 28 disposed at a lower level than elbow 16. The diverter 18 is fashioned as a tubular section 22 which preferably comprises a short length of sheet metal material of the same cross sectional size and shape as the downspout 12. The lower end of the diverter is sealed by means of an end wall 24. In the arrangement shown, the diverter 18 is of rectangular cross section. The top face 26 of the diverter is provided with a plurality of perforations 28. These perforations, it will be observed, are located at an area spaced upwardly from the lower end 26 of the diverter. The side walls 30 of the diverter and the bottom wall 32 are imperforate. Each side wall 31) has an 2,966,171 Patented Dec. 27, .196Q

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outlet fitting 34 mounted thereon. Each fitting 34 has a threaded end portion 36 for connection with a standard fitting 38 of a garden hose 40.

It will be noted that each fitting 34 is spaced upwardly from the end wall 24 and is located generally centrally between the top wall 26 and the bottom wall 32. Fittings 34, however, are preferably located closer to the end wall 24 than the lowermost perforations 28.

As explained previously, in use, the diverter 18 is fitted over the lower end of the elbow 16 so that it inclines downwardly and away from the building structure 10. When arranged in the operative position, the perforations 28 are disposed on the top side of the fitting. The hoses 40 are connected to the fittings 34 and are extended to a location where it is desired to conduct the rain water. For example, the hoses 40 may be extended to a driveway or to a portion of the lawn removed from the lower end of downspout 12. In the case of homes where the roof has a substantial overhang, the hoses 40 may, if desired, be extended to the foundation planting around the home that might not be subjected to watering when it rains. With this arrangement, when it rains, the Water from the eaves troughs will flow down through the downspout 12 and into the diverter 18. Since the diverter 18 is preferably arranged in an inclined position, and since the outlet fittings 34 are spaced upwardly from the end wall 24 of the fitting, water will flow through the hoses 40 as soon as the level of the water in the diverter reaches the outlet fittings 34. By the same token, if stones, leaves or other debris from the roof flow into the diverter, they will accumulate at the lower end of the diverter as shown at 42 and will not obstruct the fiow through the hoses 40. The lower closed end of the diverter thus provides a sump for any debris flowing into the diverter. Periodically, the diverter may be slipped off the end of elbow 16 and accumulated debris at the lower end thereof removed.

In the case of a heavy rainstorm where the flow through the downspout may be greater than the capacity of hoses 40, the excess flow is accommodated by the perforations 28.

Thus, it will be seen that the downspout diverter of this invention effectively prevents water from downspouts from producing erosion and thereby accumulating around the foundations of a home and seeping through the basement walls. The invention provides a device that may be advantageously used for watering areas that do not become sufiiciently wetted when it rains. The use of a downspout diverter as described herein does not inconvenience the homeowner in any way. It may be readily slipped off the elbow 16 for cleaning and the like and obviously, the hoses 40 may be simply dragged to a position out of the way when it is desired to mow the lawn. The placement of the outlet fittings 34 on the diverter eliminates entirely the clogging dificulties that would be encountered if these fittings were located at the extreme lower end of the diverter and the perforations 28 adequately provide for any excess flow that might occur as in the case of a heavy downpour.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In combination, a building structure having a rain water downspout thereon terminating at its lower end in an outlet opening, a diverter mounted on the lower end of the downspout, said diverter comprising a tubular mem ber inclined to the horizontal and to the vertical and with the end thereof adjacent the outlet of the downspout at a level above its opposite end, said tubular member having a top wall, a bottom wall and a pair of side walls, the lower end of said tubular member being closed by an end wall, each side wall having an outlet fitting thereon spaced axially from said end wall whereby to provide a sump at a level below said outlet fiittings in which detop wall is urovided with perforations, said perforations Eris carried into the diverter from the downspout is being spaced upwardly from said end wall. adapted to accumulate at the lower end thereof without obstructing the .flow through said outlet fiittings and References Cited in the file of this P a hose extending from each outlet fitting to a po'iu't remote 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS from the outlet of the downspout. V w 125 742 L i v 2. The combination called forin calim 1 wherein said 422:770 iz gg Egg outlet fittings are mounted on said side walls in a plane 1,124,458 Kessler 1915 spaced above the bottom Wall of the tubular member. 2 593 9 1 Andrus June 3: 1952 3. The combination called for in claim 2. wherein said 10 2,652,069 G h S t. 15, 1-953 

